San Bernardino County Fire Department
Hazardous Materials Division
620 South "E" Street
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0153
Phone: 909.386.8401
Fax: 909.386.8460
On February 9, 2006 small businesses and households will now be subject to the California
Universal Waste Rule. What this means for most is that certain “universally” generated
hazardous wastes can no longer be disposed of into the municipal solid waste landfills
in California. Disposal of a Universal Waste will be considered disposal of a hazardous
waste and carry all of the consequences that the unlawful disposal of a hazardous
waste carries in the State of California. The most common universal wastes are non-automotive
batteries, fluorescent tubes, cathode ray tube (CRT) materials, consumer electronic
devices, non-empty aerosol cans, and mercury switches.
As the local enforcement agency for San Bernardino County (except for the incorporated
City of Victorville), the San Bernardino County CUPA is working toward the goal
of educating our currently permitted businesses that are now responsible for handling
their Universal Wastes, as well as reach out to those businesses that are now required
to follow the handling standards set forth through the California Universal Waste
Rule. Note that while all generators and handlers of Universal Wastes must abide
by the applicable management requirements, additional permits as a Universal Waste
Handler in San Bernardino County will be required only for those that are not Conditionally
Exempt Small Quantity Generators. Current permit holders will notice that San Bernardino
County is collecting Universal Waste information on the Locally Collected Inventory
Information page of the Business/Emergency Contingency Plan in order to determine
applicable regulatory categories and permits.
In July 2005, The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors approved the introduction
of new permit fees for Universal Waste
Handlers under the San Bernardino County CUPA jurisdiction. Again, these additional
Universal Waste permits do NOT apply to Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Universal
Waste Generators. To determine what type of Universal Waste generator or handler
a facility is and what the basic requirements are, a good place to start is the
Summary of Universal Waste Handling Requirements.
Resources for Businesses:
Sunset of
exemptions for households and small generators (pdf)
Summary
of Universal Waste Management requirements (pdf)
Small business Universal
Waste handling guidelines (word)
Universal Waste Rule
in San Bernardino County (ppt)
Universal Waste definitions (word)
Other Web Resources:
San Bernardino County CUPA Forms and Guidelines
CIWMB Registered Electronics Recyclers
DTSC Universal Waste Page
For Homeowners:
Homeowners
Tips on handling Universal Waste (word)
The San Bernardino County Fire Household Hazardous Waste Program